Kirkman: “100%” Not Everyone Survives Mid-Season Premiere

by Johnny O'DellFebruary 12th, 2016

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You probably already know the Mid-Season finale will be CRAZY. You may even presume not everyone will make it…but to what degree? Robert Kirkman helps clarify in the Entertainment Weekly interview below:

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The last half of season 5, and the first half of season 6 was all about finding a safe place, that ended up being Alexandria, and fighting to keep it. So the world has been very much about Alexandria and what was happening there. How much of what we see going forward is going to be about expanding that world.

ROBERT KIRKMAN: Very much so. Alexandria is a step. Seeing our mid-season finale, it’s a very shaky step right now, and the outcome of that, it’s certainly unknown, but Alexandria is kind of a gateway to this larger world, to rebuilding some semblance of civilization. And it changes the kind of stories that we’re telling.

EW: So, safe to say that not everyone in the midseason premiere is going to make it out of Alexandria alive?

KIRKMAN: Some people are going to die, that is one hundred percent true.

EW: What is Rick’s view going to be on this outside world now and some of the people they may be meeting?

KIRKMAN: Well, anyone who’s been paying attention to the show knows that Rick’s views are always evolving, and I think that’s one of his strengths. As he experiences more, as he learns more, his viewpoint changes, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, but he is constantly trying to feel his way around this new world and adapting to it.

I would say that moving forward, I would expect things to be no different. Just because in the first half of the season he felt one way doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s going to be that way moving forward, and I would say that the loss of Deanna, and everything that he had learned from her during his time in Alexandria is going to have a meaningful impact on him that is going to change the way he’s thinking moving forward.

EW: What about Morgan’s place in the group? Obviously, he’s in a tenuous position. He has this shared history with Rick, but they clearly are coming from different philosophical sides. And then, obviously, we saw the whole brouhaha with Carol there at the end. So, what’s Morgan’s place in this group going to be in terms of his philosophy and how that jibes with everyone else?

Kirkman: Morgan has a very solidified way of thinking that he truly believes in that is at times very much in conflict with almost everyone in Rick’s group, and that’s going to be a huge part of this back half of the season. I would say that the conflict between him and Carol is only beginning. I would expect to see, a little bit more of that in the back half of the season as Morgan is still finding his place within this group.

He’s still very much new to the scene and trying to feel out, how it is that he interacts with these people. And his philosophy, as I said, is at odds with Rick, and it’s possibly going to be more at odds after the attack on Alexandria than it was before. So, there’s been some interesting things ahead for the character Morgan, and we’ll just have to see where they go.

I feel like sometimes when Morgan says “I have come to believe that all life is precious”, it kind of sounds like he’s trying to convince himself that this way of thinking is the right way. This would definitely be true in the mid-season premiere, considering that it was this way of thinking that led to the Wolf’s escape. I think that Morgan will either relapse to insanity, or be forced to leave the group after the Wolf fiasco. Very optimistic, I know.

I haven’t read this, don’t plan to, & was caught off guard by this title on the home page, which was unavoidable for me since I’ve been such a fan of this site. Not mad at Johnny or Brian… I just popped in here to say that I really miss the long gone times of when everything was left to my imagination & I enjoyed all there was to speculate about. Then the show would capture me & hit me, full force, leaving my thoughts in a frenzy until the next ep! Even on this site, it was once requested that comic discussions be kept off of the show discussion. These days, at the LEAST, people want to know what to expect, what they should look for, what to focus on or not to focus on, or even details of what is to come. AND NOW THEY’RE BEING FED THIS INFO. I just don’t understand this. In-depth insight into what a character is about, the reason behind why this was said or done, interviews from the cast & crew about things of the past & their feelings, tidbits on the real life of the actors/actresses themselves, how scenes & props were created… these are the things that I crave. Not confirmation that Rick is not going to lose his hand, “D” is Dwight, that Daryl is straight, or assurance that someone will die in the mid-season premiere. I’d much rather wonder about that & let it hit me full force as it airs. I’ve cut back on so much reading–something that I love to do–because of spoilers, & now I’m cutting back even more because of this TMI. I LOVE the show… always have, from day 1, but with each bit of info on what’s to come, some of the rush is lost & I hate that! Seems to me that this would cause a slow death to the show, & I hate the thought of that! Either way, I feel I’m the “odd man out” nowadays & find myself totally displaced. I’m going to convalesce in my little community where it’s safe but just wanted speak my little peace before I do.